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Car Cassette CD Players
In addition to listening to music on tape, there is an extensive collection of books and other educational material available only on tape. With such material, you can learn something new every time you start the engine. Although CD players offer remarkably better sound quality than tape player units, the noise from engine and the road will make the advantage over tape less distinct. Plus, if you can record to a tape but not to a CD disc (no CD recorder available), making your own compilations and listening to them while driving enhances the enjoyment. Car Cassette CD Players - Comparing Offers Because of the special environment of using audio equipment in-car, the main focus is generally speaking not on the sound quality. The differences in sound quality can be hard to spot while driving, making the various additional features all the more important when choosing a player. Also, in addition to technical features, look into the user interface of the player unit. You probably don't want too much complexity to the design, as easiness of use enhances driving safety. Although your main focus may be on getting the tape player option included, keep an open eye for players that have forward-looking technical features on the CD player side. One of these important features include playback support for CD-R/-RW (for homemade discs), as well as the possible support for MP3 or WMA formats. Also, as many of these combo units are somewhat expensive, look for anti-theft designs, with removable faceplates and similar technological features that will render the car cassette CD players less usable to any possible thief. Car Cassette CD Players - Manufacturers Almost all of the major manufacturers still make CD players with the cassette player included. Although the variety of CD players is much greater than for players with a cassette unit, the number of cassette players you can choose from is in the hundreds. For example, the last time I checked, shopping.com, the online shopping comparison engine, had 111 products for cassette players for in-car audio, while there were 597 offers for CD players to the automotive use. The cheapest of these players are available in the under $100 category, while the high-end players (from Pioneer, Kenwood and others) can cost well above $500. The manufacturers of bargain discount players with cassette playback include Rockwood and Pyramid. |